Former Eastern Province patriotic Front (PF) chairperson Lameck Mangani has said he will remain a loyal and patriotic member of the ruling party despite his unceremonious dismissal by President Michael Sata from the position as chairman.

He has since called on his sympathizers to remain calm in the ruling party.

Mr Mangani said he understood the frustrations the people of Eastern Province particularly the youths because they had sacrificed a lot in fighting the MMD at a time when few people had the courage to challenge the party in government.

He said as Eastern Province PF chairman, he was the property of the people in the region and that his sudden dismissal had certainly angered many people in the region.

However, he said what was important was that the party had not expelled him and would therefore remain loyal to its leadership.

Mr Mangani said it was too early for his sympathisers to begin planning what course to take because resolving problems using emotions was not going to bring peace in the ruling party.

He said Eastern Province was the home of former president Rupiah Banda and that it was not easy to market the PF adding that most of the youths who joined the ruling party at the time it was in the opposition did so at great cost both materially and spiritually.

Mr Mangani has appealed to the PF members in the region to give him time to seriously reflect so that they could make decisions that would please the leadership in the PF.

“My dismissal is like there was a funeral in a home and people talk about many things. But my appeal to the people of Eastern Province particularly the youths who sacrificed a lot to make the PF popular is to remain calm. We should take time to reflect so that we can make informed decisions. We should not rush into thinking of going somewhere else because we may just discover that they have more problems than our political party. I am still a loyal PF member and will remain as patriotic as any other ordinary member. For all I know, I have not been expelled but I understand the frustrations and the pain the people in Eastern Province are going through,” Mr Mangani said.

And Benja Siwila who was recently expelled by President Sata has praised the Head of State for the embarking on major development programmes across the country and in Eastern Province in particular.

Mr Siwila who was expelled along with former PF Lusaka district strong man Julius Komaki said President deserved the support of the youths because he had exhibited strong love for young generation.

He said President Sata deserved the vote of the youths for the second term and that looking at what the Head of State had achieved in the last two, it was important to give him the second mandate to govern the country.

“President deserves my praise and that of many other youths across the country because of what he is doing for the young generation. There is no doubt in my mind that President Sata means well for this country and we cannot afford to look anywhere else for leadership. Zambia is receiving unprecedented development and Eastern Province has greatly benefited,” Mr Siwila said.

He said the opposition was getting chocked with the achievement the PF had made in the short period it had been in government and urged the ministers and senior party members to help propagate President Sata’s vision.

“We feel bad when President Sata is being misled when he has committed himself to hard work to ensure that the country gets the best out of him,” Mr Siwila said.